Sea Cocks
 

Should sea cocks (under the water line) be ball valves or gate valves?

Sea Cocks
 

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On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 05:44:34 GMT,
John Smith wrote:
Should sea cocks (under the water line) be ball valves or gate valves?



Never gate valves, above or below the water line. Gate valves break,
they can easily jam in the open position, they give little or no
indication of if they are open, closed or some point inbetween. They are
rarely made of suitable material for salt water environments, and they
cost no less than a decent quality ball valve. If it's for a through
hull, gate valves lack the support for bolting through.

You can sort of get away with them for internal stuff, but you are
better off with ball valves for that too. The 1/4" bronze ones at
Ballard Hardware are about $6 each, and the SS ones, are ~$18 iirc.

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--
Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock

Sea Cocks
 

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 05:44:34 GMT,
John Smith wrote:
Should sea cocks (under the water line) be ball valves or gate valves?



Never gate valves, above or below the water line. Gate valves break,
they can easily jam in the open position, they give little or no
indication of if they are open, closed or some point inbetween. They are
rarely made of suitable material for salt water environments, and they
cost no less than a decent quality ball valve. If it's for a through
hull, gate valves lack the support for bolting through.

You can sort of get away with them for internal stuff, but you are
better off with ball valves for that too. The 1/4" bronze ones at
Ballard Hardware are about $6 each, and the SS ones, are ~$18 iirc.

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Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (GNU/Linux)

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mNmZXDFWHP64c2VkzyGN6Cc=
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--
Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock

Sea Cocks
 

Never gate type, always 1/4 turn somethings, barrel, ball, tapered
plug, etc, Also, always, a proper flanged base seacock with a backing
pad and ball drain, not an inline valve attached to a thruhull spud.
Conbraco, Groco, Perko, Forespar etc.



On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 05:44:34 GMT, "John Smith"
wrote:

Should sea cocks (under the water line) be ball valves or gate valves?

Sea Cocks
 

Never gate type, always 1/4 turn somethings, barrel, ball, tapered
plug, etc, Also, always, a proper flanged base seacock with a backing
pad and ball drain, not an inline valve attached to a thruhull spud.
Conbraco, Groco, Perko, Forespar etc.



On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 05:44:34 GMT, "John Smith"
wrote:

Should sea cocks (under the water line) be ball valves or gate valves?

Sea Cocks
 

As others have stated, Gate Valve are not suited for marine use and
especially for below the waterline.

However, IMHO, the plug valve is superior to the ball valve. The plug valve
can be taken apart and cleaned or repaired. It seems that they would be
cheaper to manufacture as well..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Sea Cocks
 

As others have stated, Gate Valve are not suited for marine use and
especially for below the waterline.

However, IMHO, the plug valve is superior to the ball valve. The plug valve
can be taken apart and cleaned or repaired. It seems that they would be
cheaper to manufacture as well..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Sea Cocks
 

Steve wrote:

As others have stated, Gate Valve are not suited for marine use and
especially for below the waterline.

However, IMHO, the plug valve is superior to the ball valve. The plug valve
can be taken apart and cleaned or repaired. It seems that they would be
cheaper to manufacture as well..

Agreed. Good plug valves are hard to find, though. One of the chief benefits is
that you can disassemble them without taking apart the piping, something that
can't be done with ball valves. Also, if they happen to freeze up, they are
easier to unfreeze.

I looked all over for plug valves to replace some seacocks on our boat last
spring, and couldn't find any that we could actually get in time. However, at
some boatyard session in the not-too-distant future I have to replace (upsize)
two seacocks and intend to have plug valves on hand for that job.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Sea Cocks
 

Steve wrote:

As others have stated, Gate Valve are not suited for marine use and
especially for below the waterline.

However, IMHO, the plug valve is superior to the ball valve. The plug valve
can be taken apart and cleaned or repaired. It seems that they would be
cheaper to manufacture as well..

Agreed. Good plug valves are hard to find, though. One of the chief benefits is
that you can disassemble them without taking apart the piping, something that
can't be done with ball valves. Also, if they happen to freeze up, they are
easier to unfreeze.

I looked all over for plug valves to replace some seacocks on our boat last
spring, and couldn't find any that we could actually get in time. However, at
some boatyard session in the not-too-distant future I have to replace (upsize)
two seacocks and intend to have plug valves on hand for that job.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Sea Cocks
 

Wow. Live and learn. I have no clue what a plug valve is, but I like
the sound of it. Off to Google I go.

R.


On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 12:44:16 -0500, DSK wrote:

Steve wrote:

As others have stated, Gate Valve are not suited for marine use and
especially for below the waterline.

However, IMHO, the plug valve is superior to the ball valve. The plug valve
can be taken apart and cleaned or repaired. It seems that they would be
cheaper to manufacture as well..

Agreed. Good plug valves are hard to find, though. One of the chief benefits is
that you can disassemble them without taking apart the piping, something that
can't be done with ball valves. Also, if they happen to freeze up, they are
easier to unfreeze.

I looked all over for plug valves to replace some seacocks on our boat last
spring, and couldn't find any that we could actually get in time. However, at
some boatyard session in the not-too-distant future I have to replace (upsize)
two seacocks and intend to have plug valves on hand for that job.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King